A
turbaned man oversees three young workers tending to equipment harnessing
the power of flowing water within an arched stone structure. From the
man's dress, the scene appears to take place in Greece, Turkey or the
Near East . A small dog looks on in the lower right corner.

L'Astronomie:

Allegorical
scene of Hermes, cupid and three students among the instruments of astronomy:
an armillary sphere, a geometrical drawing, a telescope, and numerous
other instruments. Hermes, the Greek god whose role was that of intermediary
between the heavens and the earth, sits beside a winged cupid atop a
stone observatory, gesturing at a grand, partially draped armillary.
The skies are dramatically lit by a rainbow.

Both
prints feature the caption, "Tiré
du Cabinet de Monseigneur le Duc de Picquigni." [Taken from the cabinet
of Monsignor the Duke of Picquigny.]

Michel Ferdinand d'Albert d'Ailly
Chaulnes, the Duke of Picquigny (1712-1777), was a wealthy French nobleman
and friend of Madame de Pompadour. His cabinet of physics was very famous,
and he is known to have commissioned a fine microscope containing features
of his own design, such as a micrometer with point .
As early as 1743, he was
received into the academy of science where he exchanged ideas on physics,
the microscope, and other topics in the "Journal des savants"
and the "Histoire de l'académie des sciences."

Jacques
de Lajoue was a French painter, draftsman and designer, primarily known
for depictions of architectural caprices in a landscape setting. Born
in Paris , he remained there
for the rest of his life. He became a member of the French
Royal Academy
in 1721. In addition to easel paintings, he produced
decorative canvases for insertion in paneling, screens and firescreens,
as well as designing banners, picture frames, harpsichord cases and
decorations for carriages. Etchings after his works were made by Cochin
, Tardieu and others.

Nicolas
Henri Tardieu was an eminent French engraver, engaged in some of the
most important publications of his time. Born in Paris
, he spent his life there,
and was received as a member of the Academy in 1720. He engraved prints
after the works of master painters of the Renaissance and his own era.
His son Jacques Nicolas Tardieu and grandson Jean Charles Tardieu, both
sometimes called Cochin,
were also artists.

Condition:
Generally very good with the usual light overall toning and scattered
edge wear.